


Open Your Eyes

by utouchmycookie



Series: Peter May Parker SWM (Stark Wilson Murdock, Spider-Woman) [2]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: AND LOOKING BEYOND THE COVER, And I Reference Those, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Break Up, Bullying, But So Are These Rich Kids, Character Death, Cis!Girl!Peter Parker, Community Service, Dollar Tree, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Female Peter Parker, Flash Thompson Being A Jerk, Flash Thompson Bullies Peter Parker, Flash Thompson Redemption, Flash is a dick, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gertrude Yorks would be Proud, Good Peter, Hurt, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, I AM CONDONING BEING A NICE THOUGHTFUL PERSON, I AM NOT CONDONING BULLYING, I have to say I hate not using capitals, I haven't actually decided yet, I will up the rating if it feels necessary by commentors, Maybe - Freeform, Midtown Tech, No One Calls it Dollar Tree, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, On Homecoming:, Peter Did Not Date Liz, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Poor Life Choices, Poor Peter Parker, Popularity, Post-Break Up, Rearranged Timeline, References to Ouran High School Host Club, Secret lives, Some sex happens, Sort of Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant, Source For My Info On Sex: Adam Ruins Everything, Summer Love, Summer Romance, They Have Great Gingersnap Cookies Though, Whump, about sex, also, also references to sex, bad language words, because i am a mess, but it is not explicit at all, by Flash though, check it out, how the fudge do you guys do it, little bit more than references actually, nothing explicit though, ohshc, okay, there is a discussion, this is driving me crazy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27004042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/utouchmycookie/pseuds/utouchmycookie
Summary: He wishes she would do anything - scream at him in anger, sob in heartbreak, curse hysterically in hurt, even sigh in disappointment. She does none of these. She doesn't even bother to give him particularly serious cold shoulders and silence treatments and talk as if he isn't there and walk as if she doesn't even realize he's in the vicinity of her."Why are you so nice to him? He just shoves your books out of your hands to be a dick!""I think he just needs some kindness in his life,""As if! I have all the kindness I could ever need, you psychotic whore!""Sure seems like it."Peter Parker and Eugene "Flash" Thompson have a summer fling, but he fucks up. Looking back on the hardships she's suffered, he tries to figure out if there is a way forward from his stupid ass mistake.
Relationships: Aca Dec & Peter Parker, Acadec & Peter Parker, Academic Decathlon Team (Spider-Man: Homecoming) & Peter Parker, Betty Brant/Ned Leeds, Eleanor Camacho & Peter Parker, Frank Castle/Karen Page, Harry Osborn/Peter Parker, Liz Allan & Peter Parker, Matt Murdock & Peter Parker, Matt Murdock & Peter Parker & Wade Wilson, Matt Murdock & Wade Wilson, Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, No I don't know which side is which, One-sided Nathan Summers/Wade Wilson, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Wade Wilson, Peter Parker/Flash Thompson, Vanessa Carlysle/Wade Wilson
Series: Peter May Parker SWM (Stark Wilson Murdock, Spider-Woman) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1970851
Comments: 20
Kudos: 86





	1. Flash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee all of to my fanfic, welcome all of you who don't ship Spideypool! Did you know that here in this fanfic, Spidey has a Dadpool? Welcome, welcome, welcome to my fanfic, welcome fans of Spidey, 'devil, and Mr. Pool. Now that I've got you here in this fanfic, I'd like to go over just a couple of rules. I am utouchmycookie, and I have wrote a couple Archive fics now, all Marvel. Previously, I did a lot Wattpad writing in the PJO fandom. I also did a touch of HP on fanfiction.net
> 
> Yes, I did come back and write this after I posted Chapter Two; yes, I did just figure out how to fix the notes and this summary; yes, I did attempt to mimic Albus Dumbledore in "Back to Hogwarts" of the Very Potter Musical; yes, I did hold down the 'e' as long as it took him to finish saying that initial 'Welcome.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long chapter. It is this way because I wrote this partially and then broke it up into five chapters but now it's too short so. Long chapters it is.
> 
> Some Prelude Information!  
> \- Homecoming happened a little differently:  
> \--- Peter did not date Liz  
> \--- Peter did not ditch Liz  
> \--- Peter did still fight and stop Vulture  
> \--- I just now decided that Liz invited Peter over to do makeup, which is how she met Adrian Toomes.  
> \------ This is because Liz loves Peter but Peter is Shy. An Introvert. It will be explained. Also Peter knows she is way poorer (I will explain that in a minute) and Liz knows she is way poorer, and this is something sort of like what my mom did for her prom (a dress "exchange" with her friends and makeup at the house of someone who could afford the Really Nice Stuff.  
> \- My Midtown Tech  
> \--- It is a rich, private school  
> \------ That means entrance tests, huge fees, and scholarships  
> \------ I am thinking rich academics and scientists' kids  
> \--- My Midtown also has elementary and middle schools, which makes it isolating to incoming scholarship students.  
> \--- Why am I this way? Because I write fanfic and I wanted to reference OHSHC  
> \--- This is very much a nerd school  
> \------ All the regular keys to popularity? Out the window.  
> \------ The jocks think they're cool but they only have so much power  
> \------ It doesn't help that beautiful, rich, and brilliant kids like Liz give AcaDec and Student Councils Power  
> \------ This means Peter has the ability to be popular and Flash has chances of not being  
> \------ It helps me control the bullying narrative as well because I have seen the classic bullying style, but modern bullying is just not that and way more painful, in my opinion. It's all about cyberbullying, mind games, and rumors. Not shoving each other around. At least, in my experience.  
> \------ There isn't really a way to get in if you don't know how to pass the tests, so these kids are looking at a long time of working hard. Managing APs and Honors and extracurriculars and social lives and volunteering and internships to get Ivy League. Similar to lower socioeconomic classes, but with more opportunities and no need to get jobs or worry about scholarships. EXCEPT the scholarship students, who occasionally come from median-middle and down. But that is really hard, because even upper-middle have more opportunities than anything lower.  
> \------ University acceptance is the only reason sports matter AT ALL.  
> \- Endgame went the same.  
> \- Far From Home did not happen (yet?)  
> \- Peter.  
> \--- Her name is Peter May Parker  
> \--- People misgender Spider-Man and she lets it slide because secret identity  
> \--- Imagine this however you want, deep voice and flat-chest or whatever, but I'm calling it "We are taught to expect guys to do these things so we think of guys doing these things," and "Peter May is not Peter Benjamin, so she put padding into her suit because padding is accessible to girls and she recognizes the help and importance."  
> \------ Balancing and time management is really fucking hard. HOWEVER. In my experience, for a long list of reasons, teenage girls tend to figure it out before teenage boys, so Peter is better at it than her male counterpart. She is also more aware of how suspicious it looks to let herself go to be Spider-Man, so she is far more careful to keep up in school and extracurriculars. And finally, girls are not as powerless as they once were, but there is still a line where we struggle to have the easy access of open doors, so Peter has to be more aware of what she is doing in order to get the places she wants to be.  
> \--------- Reason - Girls mentally and physically mature faster than boys, this is science.  
> \--------- Reason - Girls are expected to behave more "maturely" and "socially gracefully" than boys, and tend to oblige  
> \--------- Do you really need more reasons? Because it is 12:36 AM and I am in college so Google them.

Flash walks into AcaDec expecting the heated glares of the girls, at the very least. Being verbally berated and kicked off the team by unanimous decision at the most likely. He doesn't even know what to think of at the most. Social death outside of the popular jocks (who have sway, but not nearly as much as they would at non-preppy need schools) seems like a possible outcome.

None of this happens. He does a double-take. Apparently there are no sides, which leaves the options that a) nobody gives a fuck (possible, but unlikely), or b) she said nothing (he'd figure this to be unlikely, but apparently it was entirely possible). _She_ doesn't bother to look up at him entering the room, earbuds in and hair shielding the notebook she's scratching away in. Ned Leeds gives him the most dangerous look he's ever seen the happy go lucky President of the Computer Science, Ethical Hacking, Cybersecurity, IT, and Coding Clubs give; Michelle Jones manages to scare any sense of relief he'd mustered right off as she glances over the top of her book at him, and her glance says she knows, but the perfect expressionless deadpan and the way she almost immediately turns back to her book without giving him any further insight to what her thoughts are sends him into a horror and terror related trauma induced break down. Yes, he knows that's not a thing or the least bit grammatically correct but it's exactly what was headed for him.

He wishes she would do anything - scream at him in anger, sob in heartbreak, curse hysterically in hurt, even sigh in disappointment. She does none of these. She doesn't even bother to give him particularly serious cold shoulders and silence treatments and talk as if he isn't there and walk as if she doesn't even realize he's in the vicinity of her. 

She's colder than she's ever been to him, including when he'd shoved Leeds into a locker, but she's no less polite than she's ever been. God, she's never been anything worse than curt with him, and he's such a dick and a douchebag and a tool and a piece of shit and a worthless waste of space. Even now, as he jostles to get her attention, she simply turns her eyes on him, listens to his cruel jests, and turns away when he's finished. God, here he was hoping for her to show him her heartbreak and here he was falling to pieces with his (and it was his own damn fault, his own stupid fucking choices).

Their (out of the know) teammates definitely recognize the difference in her behavior, but they chalk it up to her finally building an extra wall between them (something they've been trying to get her to do for literal years now. It was always, "Why are you so nice to him? He just shoves your books out of your hands to be a dick!" "I think he just needs some kindness in his life," "As if! I have all the kindness I could ever need, you psychotic whore!" "Sure seems like it." and god-fucking-damn her perceptiveness, her big heart, her endless kindness, her naïvety that she could help him; he would be forever indebted to her kindness and her gentleness and how much it had saved him and then he had ruined it with his stupid ass dumb fucking decisions and even now she couldn't be cruel to him, not even once.). Mr. Harrington pulls her aside after practice to double-check that he didn't hurt her, and the honesty and lack of attack in her response had made it hurt more (and how was that fucking possible anymore?!).

"He's Flash, Sir. He's always rude to me, and yes he did something nasty and it hurt, but it's not of the school's concern, it won't affect my performance in AcaDec, it's nothing I can't handle, and quite honestly, Mr. Harrington? I just don't want to stoop to his level."

"You are one of the most brilliant students I've had the honor of teaching, and are miles kinder and wiser than any other human being I've ever met. You're going to go far someday, and I cannot wait to see what you do someday."

"Thank you, Mr. Harrington. I couldn't do any of it if you didn't put your heart and soul into helping us even when it seems impossibly difficult." And then she smiled that innocent, sweet smile that let you know that she had no idea that she sounded like a brown-noser because she honest to God meant it.

* * *

So here's the thing: Peter Parker is an angel of a human being. The planet Earth 's disturbingly large number of vocal, disgusting humans didn't deserve her one bit. Flash among them.

But Peter Parker also suffered left and right.

She had been one of the few who had joined Midtown Tech's high school portion their freshman year, on one of the few scholarships offered. She'd started with an hour commute to school, and her high school career had started horribly. She was alone and friendless and new and definitely not in her socioeconomic class. What she had going for her was the school being an elitist nerd school. You had to be smart, and damn was she smart. That made her popular here. The geeky clubs made her cooler - Marching Band was perhaps not the straight dash to popularity choice, but one that gave her lots of social exposure. The International Club was a genius decision, because nobody at the school had less than Tier 1 universities in their future and everyone knew it was about being well-rounded. Acing Academic Decathlon had shot her right up to the top, earning her a spot in the likes of Liz Allen's favorite people to talk to. Peter hadn't intentionally done it, either, but she'd enchanted herself to the school by being utterly introverted and sweeter than a Pixie Stix without an ounce of dishonesty in her. 

Then they'd gone to OsCorp. Norman Osborn and Dr. Curt Connors had revealed an open secret and it should have ruined her social life, but the students in the room had had nothing but sympathy for the horrible way of spilling her private life's facts - her parents were famous scientists, and dead.

The story hadn't gotten outside of their graduating class, at least, but the majority seemed to collectively decide she was their epitome of a Class Cinnamon Roll.

It helped their case that she was out sick for two weeks after OsCorp, and most people assumed that the stress of such horrible things being dragged up in such awful ways meant her mental health giving out and depleting her physical health. She'd come back and looked like shit for a week before she started looking healthier than she had before.

And then the hardest hit yet had slammed her, because Peter Parker never caught a single break.

Everyone in the school knew about Ben Parker's death. Peter's truancy was waived when she missed another week of school. Even the toughest teachers softened at the sight of her puffy, red eyes constantly wet with tears and ghost white face. Someone read the paper, and everyone doubled down on trying to soften up on Peter. Even Flash's buddies didn't have the heart to pick on her knowing she'd seen her uncle shot and held his hand as he died, helpless to do anything. She pulled herself together and two weeks later, and finally made her best friend out of Ned Leeds, generic friends with all the AcaDec girls, and at least acquaintances with the guys. Midtown decided she was not a cinnamon roll, but a gingersnap cookie from the Dollar Tree, like Seymour had once been dared to eat by a Brooklyn Visions' student back in middle school, when they had a kid from lower end Brooklyn who sold the cheap-ass things like damn drugs. Betty had told them they all needed to watch Ouran High School Host Club because they had the same energy as the Host Club drinking instant coffee, but everyone just took her word for it. Anyways, Peter. Dollar Tree gingersnaps. Tough as a Chips Ahoy cookie in light blue packaging, but not crumbly at all, and horribly sweet and spicy all at once.

* * *

Two years had been difficult, but survivable, until Thanos.

Plenty of people got fucked by the Decimation and the Blip. Half of the universe had died and returned five years later. A sixteenth of Earth's human occupants had been killed by factors associated with appearing and disappearing. An estimated fourth of all lives had been left in ruins with no way to restart. Not a single person went unaffected. Peter Parker though, she really could not catch a break.

No one outside of Flash's crew didn't believe Peter's having a Stark Internship. Therefore, learning that she had been at Stark's funeral due to being a close companion of his - and seemingly the girl out of the "girl and Spider-Man" who he had saved half the universe for, according to Ms. Potts-Stark directly, was a good sign as to the hurt she was feeling.

It was Thursday afternoon, and Mr. Mounts didn't care what they did this afternoon, because they had a paper due on Friday and half of a class in specialty Tech school that had an entrance exam who were taking AP Lit a year early had already turned in their papers. Mr. Mounts was a smart man, and a great teacher, but he was not technically inclined. He did not care though, so they all saw his YouTube views projected onto the Promethean Board with the noise up. That meant there was no stopping if the viewing of an ad — sort of.

A live news channel cut off the video with an announcement, the scene of a man who had lost it as a direct result of the Decimation and Blip completely ruining his old life during an appointment with the Maria Stark Foundation trying to help him get a new one on track. He'd gone absolutely psychotic, murdering the innocent charity worker, and setting himself loose on the streets. The news was warning of him being loose still and mourning the middle-aged woman now dead, by displaying a nice picture of her from the Maria Stark Foundation. Peter had announced, "I'm going to puke," and bolted out of the room. Ned and MJ had been on her heels, and the rest of the class was in shock.

"Oh Jesus Fuck," Sally finally said. And yeah, that was fair, because Flash knew that face as well as the rest of the AcaDec kids. It was the face of the sweet lady who once brought them Belgian Cream Pie straight from the German Bakery down the street from her apartment; she had got it at half-price because the owner's son was thoroughly charmed and the owner thought she would make an excellent daughter-in-law and that was deserving of half-priced pie even though he knew it was never going to happen.

There's a knock on the door, which opens to reveal Principal Morita looking very depressed and trying not to cry - "I need to borrow Miss Parker - oh fucking shit," he hisses.

"She went to the bathroom to puke, Sir. With Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds."

* * *

Somehow, the day only gets crazier. Everyone knows by the time Peter is safely tucked away in Mr. Morita's office, with the police officer who had to deliver the news, Mr. Morita, MJ, and Ned. The only people to go in or out is the secretary - who sends messages to the three students' teachers, as if they aren't tuned into the rumor mill - and a social worker. 

MJ and Ned are sent to fetch lunch so the social worker can talk to Peter with only adults.

"Peter?... Do you have any other family you can contact? We... Uh, we tried the contact left in case of this type of horrible event, but given the nature of the contact, we couldn't get a call through -" the social worker pauses, "If not, we have options. Good homes that want a beautiful, brilliant girl like you."

"I'm sorry about that, Ma'am, but I'm sure you're aware that phone lines are a bit risky where my family is concerned. I can as soon as I heard," Pepper Potts-Stark announces as she brushes into the room. A mild-looking man follows her in, his red and white cane rattling as he swipes if in front of him. "And this is Miss Parker's lawyer, Matthew Murdock."

"I hate that we have to meet in such dismal circumstances."

"Oh, Honey," Pepper coos sadly to Peter, sinking down beside her and setting off another round of tears. "I know, Baby, let it all out, I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what comes next. You and I are awaiting the plot together, folks.  
> Actually, that's sort of a lie. I have a few things that I want to happen.
> 
> Originally I was going to break off that last part... But now... Now it is a cliffhanger of sorts and an emotional crash ending that I like because it is 12:49 AM and one of my roommates' cat got stuck in a sticky fly trap in the last five minutes and cried and scratched and for some reason I am the only one who has actually dealt with cats seriously before so I was the only equipped to handle it. Poor Baby. But it was his fault and his name is Lucifer...
> 
> I love notes. So much. I always run over character limits in them.  
> Mostly because I want people to know my opinions on my work and all the research and prep I do for these.


	2. Pepper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper Potts-Stark to the rescue, and a brief reminder that Peter, while I keep taking things away from her, still has some strong back-up in her life!

Reporters were the bane of Pepper Potts-Stark's existence. They drew crazy conclusions and wrote explosive stories over every small misstep, but left out big details and ignored realities that did not match their perfect read. "Tony Stark died for the universe, and left his daughter and wife behind," the bitch from NBC said sadly.

No honey, Tony went on the mission that shockingly did not kill him sooner to give a teenager a hug because he'd said they weren't there yet and he was wrong; because losing her had just about destroyed him. He'd cried when Pepper had told him she was pregnant and he'd sobbed when he found out it was a girl. He died to make sure his kids had a world worth living in. And he'd left kids behind, all for Pepper and Happy and Rhodey and Bruce to hunt down.

Not that any of the kids were bad - well, Morgan could be trouble, but she was five. Harley was sweet, Mercedes was charming, Darcy was grown up, Peter was an angel, and Kate was difficult to find, but Rhodey had readily offered himself up to handling her (and now Pepper was learning there was a lot more Tony didn't know about the then five year old he tried to get custody of a good sixteen years prior and all of twenty-one years old).

* * *

Things were going as well as could be expected, until she saw May Parker, murdered at work, on the television.

Oh, poor Peter.

* * *

Students and staff stare, but Pepper doesn't actually care. She brushes into the principal's office with Happy hot on her heels just in time to hear the social worker telling the principal to let it go and let her take Peter to a good home.

The principal isn't budging, which is good, because Pepper is here.

* * *

"Peter?... Do you have any other family you can contact? We... Uh, we tried the contact left in case of this type of horrible event, but given the nature of the contact, we couldn't get a call through -" the social worker is now appealing to Peter, even as the principal seethes behind her. "If not, we have options. Good homes that want a beautiful, brilliant girl like you." Pepper can practically feel the fire in the man's eyes, and she recognizes both that fire and the man. A good old Howling Commando descendant, Jim Morita III, who she knows from all the gatherings Tony was invited to as Peggy Carter's godson and Howard Stark's son (emphasis on the prior, formality on the latter).

"I'm sorry about that, Ma'am, but I'm sure you're aware that phone lines are a bit risky where my family is concerned. I came as soon as I heard," Pepper announces herself. The tell-tale rattle of Matt Murdock's cane follows her, which is perfect timing. "And this is Miss Parker's lawyer, Matthew Murdock."

"I hate that we have to meet in such dismal circumstances." Matt says to the social worker.

"Oh, Honey," Pepper coos sadly to Peter, sinking down beside her and setting off another round of tears. "I know, Baby, let it all out, I know."

* * *

Things are sorted out despite the pissy social worker (which Matt promises to look into after, neither bothering to pretend that she doesn't know who he is at night).

It also comes to her attention that it is just not reasonable to have Peter live at the Lakehouse and still attend Midtown. It's also not fair to ask her to leave Midtown when there's a reasonable answer to where Peter could live during the school year.

It's too iffy to let Peter stay with Matt without getting the dirty social worker dig her fingers into Peter, so here Pepper stands in the areas she's only ever been in during ransom kidnappings, facing off perhaps the most terrifying pseudo-good guy on Earth. The good news is, Eleanor Camacho looks as happy and healthy as Morgan, and she's as happy to see her big sister as Morgan would be.

Ellie's father invites Pepper in, using a taxi whistle to get Ellie's attention and tell her to stay with Peter. Matt follows them in without a care in the world.

* * *

Wade Wilson's apartment is interesting. It's nicer than she expected of the Merc, but Ellie and Peter kid of explain why it's so clean and relatively weapon-free. The décor is almost what she expects - black and white posters of the 70s and 80s rock bands who had Pepper curling and fluffing and Aquanetting her hair to the max back in high school and her twenties - but it gets mixed up with pastel knits and beautiful, knotty woods, which she assumes are the fault of the woman pressing a kiss to Wade's cheek in a framed photo in the white upper half of the hallway, seeing as the lower-half is a colorful array of artistry on its own, evidently the work of a young girl, and possibly her father (Wade is famous for his love of unicorns and Hello Kitty, and Pepper isn't sure Ellie would know how to draw such a detailed Glock), and likely her big sister (Peter's flowers are very specific to Peter).4

"Vanessa loved to buy tea," he explains as he opens up a cabinet and shows a huge, well-organized selection of teas. "I assume this is about May Parker?"

"It is."

"You don't seem like the type to look for a revenge merc, but I'm doing it for free because Peter's one of mine."

"That's not actually why I came, Mr. Wilson."

"Oh?"

"Peter needs a place to stay that she can get to school from, and there's something dirty about her social worker."

"Checking in on a social worker? I have to say that's a new one, Ms. Potts-Stark."

"Actually, it would seem Peter's principal enacted something to check in on her as well. According to the Baby Bird, there's a whole network of Howling Commandos' descendants across a bunch of jobs that make up a miniature intelligence network. It's all very much on-brand for Peggy Carter type escapades. While I would certainly make a noisy poke at her to make her hunker down on the face-value level and make her misstep at the dirty levels, I would actually let a Carter know that you know they're investigating and that your investigating as well." Matt cuts in. "What? Jessica called to let me know in case I run into any of them."

"Well that's convenient, but that still leaves me without the knowledge of what you want me to do, Ms. Potts-Stark."

"You and Peter are very close."

"... Yes?"

"And May Parker didn't think you were so bad." She pauses, "What do you think of Peter? Want from her?"

"I - she's like my kid. My brilliant, ridiculous, innocent vigilante kid with a big heart. I don't want her to lose her sweetness and naïvety the way the other kids I try to keep my eye on have. I don't want anything from her - it's what I want for her."

"Why are you being so honest?"

"I need you to know that we're on the same page about Peter. I don't know exactly what you want to ask of me, but I have an idea about what it is."

"And what do you want for her?"

"I wasn't aware you were the legal rep here, but I want her to have the chance to grow up. I want her to be the hero Red and I never can be, however she sees fit to do that. Whether it's Spider-Man or a genius scientist or whatever... Just make herself happy."

"She loves her school, but Midtown is too far for her to attend if she lives with me during the school year at the Lakehouse. And she'd never be happy as she couldn't be the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man." Pepper announces. "I want her to have that opportunity, and I want her to make her choice, but to make a choice I need options. I would suggest she stay with Matthew, but I fear backlash on both he and I. Minimal people know about the arrangement of she being my ward, and fewer people will know or care why a merc took in a stray girl."

"You make a good case, Ms. Potts-Stark; and Peter always has a place in my home, same as Ellie."

* * *

"Whatever you think is right for you, Baby. And anytime you need me, I'm one call away with a lot of money and power at my disposal." Pepper promises, "We'll set up visits and vacations on your part for when crime is low, and Morgan and I will come visit you as often as possible..."

"Thank you for everything, Pepper." Peter whispers, hugging her tight (but not too tight) and pressing her face into the expensive material of Pepper's jacket.

"Of course, Baby, whatever you need." Pepper murmurs into her hair, trying not to cry because Tony would've had his heart melt hearing this amazing girl call her 'Pepper' for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pepper wasn't originally going to be involved but here we are. 
> 
> We've officially got a plot, too! And a timeline! And all sorts of smaller conflicts for both Peter and Flash to deal with! Things are growing and moving right alonggg. Except for the actual writing part. :/  
> The social worker wasn't evil until she was so now that's something to keep an eye out for. I have an idea that I have to wiggle in and try to make into part of the story with some other ridiculous events.
> 
> NEXT TIME ON Open Your Eyes - We finally get the summer fling we were promised! It goes places you did not expect! A lot of Googling that would have the author's mom worried and sitting her down for a talk if she knew because she would assume the author finally got a boyfriend and never told anyone and that is a Problem occurs! And the reality is that the author had to Google this because she is writing about a relationship when she has never been in one! So please bear with her! And Flash's dick move is revealed!
> 
> Sorry if the story is getting shorter or if my writing is confusing. Please let me know, but don't attack me because a) I don't actually care, but b) I have severe anxiety so even though I don't actually care I will mull over it in depth for no reason endlessly until I make another small, stupid mistake in my life.
> 
> Some small headcanons I snuck in:  
> \- In the last chapter, I will add the second series I am going to be running in the nearby future (basically Kate Bishop & Peter Parker are BFFs), which will crash into my third series (basically BAMF Hawkeyes are Humble), so I nudged in a couple references to Kate and my basic backstory I have devised for her in my universes because that is the point of fanfic. This is actually directly alluded to twice ~ once as Tony tried to adopt her and Rhodey got involved post-mortem (Pepper gives her the straight up name of Kate, here), and once in reference to her being connected to both the descendants of the Howling Commandos and the Defenders (Matt calls her "the Baby Bird" and directly correlates her to Jess).  
> \- There's a third nod to her I don't know if anybody caught, and it actually is part of a bigger reference. Wade goes out of his way to describe how his Peter as his kid relationship works. While it wasn't obvious, the intent behind it was to differ her from Russell, Ellie, and Kate (which will be explained in depth later on). But if you bother to read the notes... You get to squeal when it happens, if that's your thing.).  
> \- There are a few great works about the Howling Commandos' descendants sticking together. I personally suggest sergeant_angel's Riptide (https://archiveofourown.org/works/6465109/chapters/14797123) and Keeping Up With the Joneses (https://archiveofourown.org/works/12869277), as well as Riverlander974's Carter Cousin Chronicles (https://archiveofourown.org/series/485423).  
> \- Peter Parker is every child of a hero's Big Sister.


	3. Flash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop aboard the "Can I Make You Cry?" train! It departs at 2:47 in the morning because I am a mess!

At first, he assumes that Peter fucking Parker of all people had to take up _this_ community service project. He had picked it because only one other mysterious person he'd never heard of at the school had signed up, and none of his crew would be caught dead in this area.

It made sense though that Peter Parker would sign up and take up yet another duty in her already crazy busy schedule (which included: maintaining position at the top of their class with a perfect 4.0 in unweighted grades and a 4.7 with AP and Honors weighted grades, a full-time internship at Stark Industries with a ridiculously high rank (as proven by Abe’s older brother, who had a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and had graduated two years prior Summa Cum Laude from MIT and had still been waitlisted for the prestigious internship that led to guaranteed employment at the upper levels of SI’s R&D and ranked below the late Tony Stark’s personal intern, who was now a floating intern and reported directly to Pepper Potts-Stark and only Pepper Potts-Stark), a part-time job as an assistant at a cute, pro-bono, silently ass-kicking legal firm in Hell’s Kitchen, racked up community service hours by the hundreds a month through multiple volunteer groups which even Ned and MJ didn’t know all the names of, _and_ she balanced extra-curriculars in with it (AcaDec, Science Quiz Bowl, Chess Team, Marching Band, International Club, Robotics Club, Engineering Club, Honor Society, and served as a practice dancer for the Dance Team; some of these were seasonal, and many only met once or twice a month, maybe a week, but _damn_ girl).

Flash elects to ignore it, because Peter Parker is a lot of things, and _quiet_ and _introverted_ are among them (meaning she probably won’t tell anyone, and anyone who she does is probably not of consequence to him, because she’s definitely not going to bounce up to his jock buddies and tell them). Also, unlike him, she is an honestly good person (Right. That is also an important reason).

Flash delivers boxes of supplies to the low income people in the neighborhood, and to what would be his father’s horror if he knew, Flash finds himself getting comfortable with these people. He talks to them, garners sympathy for their predicaments. He even gets used to working with Peter Parker, and finds himself caught thinking less and less of using the name he and his buddies have been known to call her to her face, and replacing it with the one they use behind her back. Parker might be the perfect person to pick on for being herself, but fuck it all if she doesn’t do it in a cute way. Liz had been preppy, she was pretty and smart and an extrovert; Peter might be utterly nerdy, but no one could deny she was a pretty girl. Pretty Parker is what all the girl lovers at the school called her when she wasn’t around. The Guys still managed to be dicks about it, though, always lamenting on and on about what they’d do if she ever showed her face at a party. Flash hoped she stayed away for the rest of high school, because no one deserved that disgusting shit, let alone an innocent and sweet girl who had never even mustered the anger to call Flash out for being a dick to her. _No_ , Parker had to go and be all deep and hit him where it hurt. It was always, _“I can only imagine what your home life is like if you feel the urge to treat other living creatures this way,”_ and _“I hope your day gets better and you don’t feel the need to knock people below you to feel above them, Flash, because that never works and you deserve better.”_ with her.

Ugh, fucking Peter Parker had gone and -

Had gone and - 

Had gone and stolen his heart, god _fucking_ damn that perfect girl.

* * *

So everything is going not too well for all of two weeks. Two weeks and Flash is attached to these people, so when _Señora Artega_ needs milk on Sunday, Flash volunteers to bring it to her. Nobody fights him, because they all get attached to their people in their area. _Señora Artega_ thanks him graciously, and piles enchiladas into his arms. The poor enchiladas don’t survive to the end of the hallway. Not because Flash ate them all - she had given him so many it would’ve been physically impossible for a person walking at his pace and eating him at the speed which he was in fact inhaling them to eat that amount in less than two flights of stairs.

Flash drops the enchiladas because a large noise behind him is startling. He rescues the enchiladas just in time, and pivots to see what the Hell just happened, only to drop his enchiladas as he freezes in place.

To be totally fair, this is not some crazy erotica, so the underwear and bra were not entirely lace lingerie. This is also a real girl we are talking about, so she had her preferences, and those preferences were not the sports bra and boyshort underwear Flash expected. Peter Parker looked like a young woman, wearing only a simple black bra with lace up the outer edges and cutesy bow in the middle and a plain, simple pair of Spider-Man underwear that Flash knew were from the half-thong section of Wal-Mart because Jess had snuck a pair home, and they were considered contraband by both the kids and the household staff who were close to Flash and Jess but not narcs to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson (Spider-Man and Wal-Mart items were not okay in their parents’ penthouse).

So. Rewind and explain. The door of one of the apartments sat on the floor of the hallway, and in the apartment stoof Peter Parker clad only in underwear and a bra. Flash was staring at her in the hallway, enchiladas covering the floor and his pants, but he didn’t even notice because he was more than a little distracted.

“Uh,” is the eloquent response suiting a teenage boy covered in enchiladas unexpectedly staring down a pretty teenage girl he’d been picking on for three years while she wears only underwear and a bra.

“Wade!” is what the girl speaks in response. 

“Did the door not survive?” and the man in question responds by sauntering leisurely into the room. He glances once at the situation, and decides how to handle it instantly:

“ _No_.” and plants his massive body in front of Peter’s tiny one, still blocking the view of her as she bolts and he moves to pick up the door and lean it precariously in front of the doorway.

* * *

“JESSIE!”

“Flash? What’s wrong?”

* * *

Francine Jessilyn Thompson was born when Flash was 6 years old. When he turns 16, she’s 10 years old. She’s always been the dream child of their parents, and even though they compare them, Eugene “Flash” Fitzgerald Thompson, is as charmed by Jessie as they were. Even when he turns 17 and she’s a whole 15 years old, Flash adores her. The one good thing about those five years of Thanos’s dickwaddery is that Jessie now understands what he was getting into that got their nanny so mad at him. She understands drinking and drugs and sex more than she did with the more progressive but still shitty DARE and Sex Ed courses Midtown Elementary School provided 5th grades with. She, unlike Flash, tends to avoid them, but she doesn’t judge him.

The thing about Jessie is that her single-most favorite person in the world, despite all odds, is Flash. They’re closer than people imagine, so he has no shame and no regret as he spills everything about his day with her, and picks apart his own feelings.

* * *

“I’m sorry,” he tells Peter immediately. He sounds like her, actually. Always apologizing, whether or not they know what for.

“I’m sorry?” Is she copying him in confusion or responding? Impossible to know, really.

“I - you were vulnerable, it was wrong to stare.” Peter is not expecting this. She blinks owlishly. The looming figure makes itself known, and Flash suddenly realizes how much danger he was in with the man who had put himself between the door and Peter the day prior sneakily watching over them. Flash can only hope his movement means he thinks Flash is moving in the right direction with this conversation, but should be wary of any missteps.

“Oh, um, thanks? I guess? For the apology? It was kind of my fault, I knew that Nate had broken the door last week and Wade had JBB fix it, which is ineffective at best, but it was a like… One in a octillion chance it fell in _that_ inconvenient timeframe, let alone that instant.” Seemed pretty typical Parker Luck.

“Still, uh, I am sorry.” And Flash followed this with a list of things he should not say because _Wade_ was still looming, but he kind of wanted to, and he was definitely worried that _Wade_ was a telepath because the government had verified at least one existed because it would probably be worse for his health than Thanos was if _Wade_ could read Flash’s thoughts:

_That I saw you in that moment?_

_That you were stunning?_

_That that moment is more influential than all of my exes and the porn I’ve seen put together?_

_That I’m terrified because as sexy as it was - which it shouldn’t have been so because there wasn’t anything nearly as special as what some of the girls at parties had worn in general let alone to get him specifically? - it also has not rid me of thoughts of ice cream dates and actually watching movies?!_

Maybe Wade didn’t need to actually read minds, because he tilted his head as if he knew what Flash was thinking and was both annoyed and a bit intrigued. God, Flash couldn’t even see the guy, just his shadow behind Peter and he was terrified. Dude was menacing.

* * *

“It’s probably rude to ask, but, uh, do you volunteer or -?”

“I live with Wade, since Aunt May -” she pauses to shake her head. “Uh, Pepper said I was free to come live with her, but the estate is way out of the way of people. For obvious reasons. She didn’t want to make me leave Midtown after I had worked so hard to get there and stay there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Scholarships students are required to retest every semester, and they have to make presentations on what they’ve learned and how they’re applying it to real life, and what they’re doing in the future and how to their sponsors.”

“That’s not fair,”

“Life rarely is.”

“You’re top of the class, do you still have to do all that? Shouldn’t rank be good enough?”

“It isn’t, but I don’t. Mr. Stark paid off everything and then made a donation with more zeros involved than my aunt and uncle ever made, all put together in their lifetimes.”

“Wow, you had to have been close to him for that kind of money.”

“Not really - on the money thing. He spent an amount with another three zeros just to put a Make-A-Wish kid in a racecar that went around a track on live television once, just because he didn’t know what to do with all that money. We were close though. He kind of took up where Uncle Ben left off, and that was nice.”

“Peter?”

“Sorry, just… He hugged me, after the Blip. It’s the first thing he did when he saw me. I was a rambling mess and he just hugged me. Rhodey - ah, Colonel Rhodes, War Machine? - he said that was the only thing he ever wanted before he died, and that Tony knew it was a suicide mission, in the long run. The Avengers, they told me after that I was the only of the kids he’s taken too who got Snapped, and that I was the reason he helped at all.”

“It’s not your fault he died though. It’s not even his fault - it’s the alien who did this to us’s. Wait - what do you mean by Snapped?”

“Oh, um, it might be private knowledge, so welcome to Avengers level secrets, but, uh, the extraterrestrial, his name was Thanos. He had these stones on a gauntlet, and he snapped his fingers wearing the gauntlet with all six Infinity Stones and then we were all Dusted.”

“So you actually know the Avengers, huh? And knew Tony Stark?”

“He was like a father to me.”

“That is a cheesy, horrible line.”

“He’d be so proud.”

“I think he really would.”

* * *

“Peter. If this Wade guy is hurting you -”

“Flash. Wade is filling the gaping wound in my heart where I am desperate for a male adult figure since the last three died and Matt is preoccupied. Also, he’s more of a troubled older brother type with advice that is either entirely useful or entirely problematic. Besides, Wade isn’t a bad guy. Pepper cleared it because he and Spider-Man work together - sometimes with Daredevil. And, DCFS has decided he’s good enough to have extended bouts of unsupervised visitation with his daughter while she stays in a long-term, government declared foster home.”

“Okay. I was just checking.”

“Thank you,” Oh no, he’s in love.

* * *

“So what is this?”

“This is the third time you’ve insisted on buying me lunch this week. We’ve been doing this and dinner and movies and ice cream and even a picnic in the park for the last two weeks. It’s been three weeks since you’ve seen me in underwear and underwear only.”

“I distinctly recall a bra.”

“Ugh, _boys_. Bras are considered underwear in broad terms.”

“Okay, I am not debating this with you right now because I want to know what this.”

Peter raises her eyebrow and daintily licks her ice cream.

“Are we dating?”

She cocks her head, and damn, she’s cute.

“Let me restart. Hello there, Beautiful, would you be opposed to taking this up a notch and being my girlfriend?”

“I wouldn’t be opposed.” Her cheeks are pink. Is it too soon to call himself a lucky bastard?

* * *

Peter’s lawyer comes to visit her every Sunday afternoon, and demands that a family dinner consisting of himself, his partner (which type is undefined), Wade, and Peter. Every Thursday, however, Peter goes to the Church of the aforementioned lawyer, and walks with a nun called Sister Maggie, and is apparently the sharpest tongued, most dry-witted nun to ever exist. Flash never asks Peter, but Wade helpfully exclaims the incredibly confusing explanation of, “She wants to know the chosen family of the child she gave birth to and then abandoned with his loving father - after a nasty bout of Postpartum Depression that was mistreated horribly back in the day - but got stuck with him anyways because she was with the Church orphanage he got dumped in after the dad’s horrific death.”

After that, Flash had learned that if they were any sort of superhero at all, to stay the fuck away from their family lives.

Try as he might to avoid it, though, he had chosen to date a girl left in the legal custody of _the_ late superhero’s wife and legal guardianship and home of a man who was an anti-hero, at _best_. Therefore, he should be expecting it when Ellie invites him in and tells him to head to the kitchen. The kitchen reveals that Peter is not home yet, and won’t be for another thirty minutes or so.

It takes three minutes for Flash to have his life fly in front of him as the lawyer sits deadly quiet and Wade explains in explicit detail exactly what they taught Peter to do to defend herself and exactly what it would do to him. Wade was even so kind as to produce a rolling whiteboard, and with only three shades of Expo markers, make horrifyingly accurate drawings to accompany his description.

Peter comes to the rescue 14 minutes later, 13 minutes early, winded and ready to kill. The two men beat it and she apologizes profusely. He stands up and walks to her, making her freeze in her sentence. She’s really freaking short he realizes as he bends over and presses a kiss to her lips.

“ _Will you shut up,_ ” Wade whispers against the silence, somewhere in the background, “ _I am as shocked as you are, so please quit squealing so we can find out what happens next!_ ”

“Wade, do we need to go back to the therapist?” Mr. Murdock murmurs, there’s silence for a beat and then both crack up. Peter presses into the kiss, and his fingers tangle in her long hair.

* * *

Jessie, on the other hand, thinks Peter hung the Moon the second she meets her. Despite Jessie’s bubbly and vivacious demeanor being at odds with Peter’s reserved and quiet demeanor, they hit it off immediately. Flash wonders if this is how people felt when they knew they had accidentally created something dangerous.

* * *

More terrifying than either family, it turns out, is facing his peers. Ned Leeds gives him a distrusting look and MJ is stoic as she has ever been, but both are cordial in an effort to appease Peter, who is clearly trying very hard not to just freak out about all of this. Peter hadn’t set any of this up, after all. MJ and Ned had insisted they at least be given a chance to try and make it work, and Flash had assured her he wanted it to. MJ has a dark humor that Flash can vibe with, and Ned is only slightly less nice than Peter. Lunch means they catch up with Peter’s friend from outside of school, Kate, who is somehow far more intimidating than Ned and MJ put together, but the least judgmental.

“I’ve never been in Ned and MJ’s shoes, to know Peter as anything less than a tough, brilliant cookie.” Kate hums. “But I can see where that idea would stick with them.”

Kate’s allusions are as vague and mysterious as she is, and she begs off at the end of their meal with a glance at her phone, which she has ignored deftly despite the massive number of messages she was receiving. 

“Bye Boo, catch you in the evening this week?”

“For sure. Thanks for not judging my taste in boyfriends.”

“I have no room to judge. You know who else has less? Felicia. Girl is a hot _mess_.”

“Oh God, Felicia, why?”

* * *

It is a regular Friday night. Flash should not be this nervous. He was not this nervous when he was fourteen and at his first party.

She’s sprawled on the bed and he’s looming over her. She takes one look at his face and snorts.

“It’s not as big of a deal as you are making it into.”

“Isn’t it though?”

She pats the bed; he hesitates and then simply falls onto it, landing beside her and making her bounce, gaining a surprised yelp that he can’t help but laugh at. “Okay, my dude, spill the problem.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“A bit. There are a few scary things, but we’ve knocked out the big ones, and are covering our bases as best as we can for the next big concern.”

“Was that an innuendo, Miss Parker?”

“We are literally talking about sex, _Eugene_.”

“You sound like Rapunzel - you’ve even got the long hair.”

“It isn’t magic, though.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s what magic would smell like.”

“Magic is just a higher level of control of energy, electricity, magnetism, reality, and probability that we can’t comprehend yet. The Scarlet Witch and Loki’s magic both smell like ozone, in case you were wondering. I had to ask Bruce what the smell was most like, way back when, actually. But! On topic! Your magic wand -”

“Did you just -”

“- and our chemistry. Specifically, our biochemistry. Hormones.”

“Peter, what the actual fuck are you saying right now?”

“I don’t know, so let me get back to calling on my inner Gert.”

“Your inner Gert?”

“Kate’s favorite name for social justice warriors.”

“ _Damn_.”

“Thompson, focus.”

“Focused.”

“Are you really now? Whatever. Listen up, Bubs, time for a lesson in basic anatomy. If we do this, you aren’t going to tear through a sheet of hymen. That’s not what a hymen is.”

“Then what is it?”

“The best explanation I’ve ever heard went like this - most people think of a hymen as this like strip of skin to rip through, right? Kind of like one of those banners people run through at sports games. But that’s wrong. The hymen is a layer of protection that’s actually circular and makes up the outermost - or is it innermost?, you know what I don’t know about that part - it’s just a protective layer surrounding your vagina. It isn’t a banner, it’s more like a balloon arch. It’s a bit flexible, and sure you can tear it, but it’s not going to do too much damage and there’s lots of reasons and ways it can get damaged. Which basically just means that everything about virgins’ hymen tests, blood on sheet checks for proof of ‘virginity’, and the idea of virginity itself are all bullshit ideas built to tear down women in just one more way. Sex is perfectly natural and we are far from the only animals that do it for more reasons than just procreating. Sure, it poses some dangers, but so does everything else.”

“Okay, wow, that was a lot, thanks.”

“The funny thing is, you’ve calmed down.”

“True. But no offense, or anything…”

“You aren’t horny?”

“I can’t imagine those words coming out of your mouth, but they just did and yes. Somehow, talks about the Patriarchy implementing virginity and cruel, unrealistic tests are very un-sexy.”

“That was my plan.”

“Wait, what?”

“Now that you’re here and calm, it’ll be much easier to rile you up in a way that you are less likely to panic.”

“Uh -”

“It means kiss me, Flash.”

“Right. I can do that.”

Sex can be fun, and it can be pleasurable, but they don’t tell you a lot of things about it. Anywhere. There are awkward joints and limbs, unexpected feelings, some crazy noises, and definitive, “Uh, yeah, no, like that, nope, that’s not, oh -, wait, shit!”s that no one tells you about. At one point Peter starts giggling, and Flash can’t help but join in. It’s too ridiculous not to. They’re finally comfortable, when he gets a little bit caught up in staring at her face. She pinches her eyebrows and can’t hide a smile, whispering, “Hi,” into the silence. Emotions are high so he starts laughing.

It’s more uncoordinated than even that drunken night in Jesse’s dad’s cabin with Sam and Riley that none of them ever talk about, but more worthwhile than it’s ever been before.

He wakes up, with the sun streaming in through the blinds, in Peter’s sheets. She is sprawled on her back, three of the amazingly soft blankets covering her over the blue sheet. Her hair is almost out of the simple updo she’d shoved it into to get it out of the way the night before, and her arms are tossed above her head, her face shifted away from him to enjoy the warmth of the sun even as she sleeps on.

It’s ridiculous and it’s all his.

* * *

Wade doesn’t judge them for having sex, which Flash learns is something Peter had admitted to him. Neither does Matt. Neither does Ms. Potts-Stark when Flash gets to meet her and she tells him she knows everything Peter has told her, smiling with shark’s teeth hidden behind lips coated in the color of fresh blood.

* * *

Flash doesn’t know who else Peter tells, but he suddenly finds himself in the boat of being very isolated because he only has Peter and Jessie to talk to. One bad thought leads to another, and those lead to bad ideas, and instead of talking to the supportive people he has, he makes a bunch of small mistakes. And then a big one.

“Flash? Are you okay?”

“Fine, just worried about school,”

“I’m here if you need anything.”

He wants to snap, but he can’t with those puppy dog eyes staring at him. Instead he smiles, catches her elbow and drags his fingers down the underside of her upper forearm and then catches her hand in his. “I know.”

* * *

He starts blowing off dates, and Peter is agreeable. Gets more and more distracted, but she doesn’t push. He wonders, after, if it would have changed anything; if maybe she’d fought for him, he would go back. Then he reminds himself that blaming her is so very wrong it would be his fast ticket straight through Hell and into Purgatory.

* * *

It’s the beginning of September, and there are two weeks to school. They’re standing in a coffee shop and his head is dipped. He’s so _fucked_.

“It’s your choice Flash.”

“Please don’t -”

“I’m not giving you an ultimatum, or anything. I’m being honest. We make our choices and live with them.”

“I -”

“It’s _okay_. I understand. It’s your choice.”

“I’m sorry,” he manages.

“Me too.” Peter shakes her head, letting tears slip down her cheeks. She stands up, grabbing her iced mocha, and walks away, with her head held high, dabbing at her eyes. A young businessman darts to open the door for her. The entire coffeeshop had been entrenched in their flair-less drama. Flash does not bawl like a baby, but he does rub harshly at his eyes. _Fucking Hell_.

His throat swells and his eyes burn; his stomach rolls and his heart pounds; his head aches and the area behind his eyes stings. He swallows and tries to maintain his breathing.

“Bro, that fucking sucked.”

“So harsh,”

“Dude.”

“You are not helping,” he snaps at the college guys breaking the silence behind him.

“You could catch her,” a little girl suggests.

“She deserved better, anyways.”

There’s a startling noise, and Flash jumps, spilling coffee down his front side. As if the universe was punishing him for breaking the unluckiest, sweetest girl’s heart.

Motifs are a funny thing: a loud noise, a surprised Flash, an irritating spill, and an unwanted audience. Time for a rewind, to explain what just happened.

* * *

Flash had let his depression get the best of him.

Flash had not tried to get help from his supportive girlfriend and devoted sister. Rather, he went back to what he knew. Fake buddies who let him chill, got him into parties, and hung around because their Fathers were as rich and uncaring as his. It got to him.

In the days after, he at least has mornings to dream of, with hair falling out of its confines and morning light warming a pile of so many blankets.

* * *

**_Monday:_ **

Peter had tucked her hair behind her ear, fidgeted with her bracelet, bit her lip, and twisted her earrings. “I need to tell you something important.”

“Okay.”

“Not just yet, I’m sorry. I need to get a couple things together.”

“That’s fine, whatever you want, Babe.”

“The ‘babe’ is new.”

“Is it bad?”

“No, just different.” He smiles at her, she smiles back. “When do you want to meet?”

Her hair falls out of place, he huffs an amused breath, and tucks it back for her. “Whenever you want,” he meets her eyes and grows a different, soft smile.

“Wednesday? At the coffee shop by Wade’s place? Four?”

“Sounds good to me. Coffee shop by Wade’s place at four in the evening on Wednesday.”

“Thank you.”

“For you? Anytime.”

**_Tuesday:_ **

**Brandon**

got tickets to a game at 12 tomorrow box seats

**Milo**

bro

**Mike**

dude

**Jeffrey**

yo flash u going

**Flash**

ofc

**_Wednesday:_ **

It’s tradition to go get pizza after the games. He doesn’t think to check his watch or phone until they pass the coffee shop at 5:30. _Fuck_.

“Poor girl got stood up,” a woman is saying outside.

“We could join her, maybe. We’ve all been there.” her friend says.

They’re sweet ladies, because Peter catches his eyes. His face drops immediately. She bites her lip, scrunching her face and nods at him, looking away to not show her tears. He follows his jeering bros, shoulders drooping, throat sore, and heart heavy. Peter brushes out the door with her purse over her shoulder, phone in hand. “I’m sorry to bother you, but everything is wrong and I don’t think I can make it home on my own.”

**_Thursday:_ **

**Flash**

I’m sorry

Please just answer

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

I’m sorry

Can we at least talk about this

**Peter**

This isn’t a one time thing

This isn’t even a second or third time thing

**Flash**

I’m sorry

**Peter**

I’ll be at the same coffee shop at 10am tomorrow

Needless to say, it is not a second chance.

Or, it is, but one can’t give everything and never take anything.

In the end, Peter defines no rules or boundaries. She only tells him they have choices. He apologizes, and she walks away. For the second time that week she keeps her head high as she exits the threshold of the coffee shop by Wade’s apartment, heartbroken but with her dignity in hand and kindness at heart.

* * *

And with that, we are caught up to Chapters One and Two. Stick around for Chapter Four, as aspiring journalist Betty Brant takes on the curious case of What the Actual Fuck Flash did to Peter Parker so Everyone Knows how Hard to Beat Him, works on her personal interview and analysis views with the subject of Peter Parker, and tries to survive the most bombarded trip to Europe in history (which is saying a lot, because Europe has a wild history).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU HAD ALL BETTER LIKE MY DEADPOOL BECAUSE I WENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE MOVIE AND TOOK NOTES ON HOW HE DID HIS FOURTH WALL BREAKS JUST SO WE DIDN’T END UP WITH THE STEREOTYPICAL ARGUING WITH THE AUTHOR BECAUSE NO OFFENSE TO THOSE AUTHORS AS THEY ARE WRITING FICTION BUT IT IS NOT CANON, AT LEAST IN THE MCU. Guys, I have NOTES. He chatters at the audience. He mentions things he should not know, however, he continues to be a fictional character and only seems to half realize/accept this. Welcome to utouchmycookie’s 12:52am research for fanfiction that only a good handful of people I owe a cookie to actually read. It’s cathartic and great for procrastination.
> 
> Also, the references to sex occur here. It’s nothing explicit, but it’s not innocent either. I will tell you that it starts with:  
> “It is a regular Friday night.” and ends with: “He wakes up with the sun streaming in through the blinds in Peter’s sheets.” in case you want to skip it, however, the incident may be referred to again. It’s actually likely it will.
> 
> It is, in fact, possible to manage all of these things. It is simply draining mentally, physically, and emotionally. I actually did this many clubs, not these ones specifically, but mostly similar and this many, and served on many of the councils for these. I did not have an internship, but I figure Peter’s internship (which seem to run 20 hours if my current internship and those of my friends and roommates are any suggestion) and a part-time job (probably about 20 hours, based on, once again, the part-time jobs of high school and college students around me) equal out to the same number of hours as a full-time job (40ish hours) which I did in fact balance for two years in high school. I also racked up hundreds of community service hours in between all this, and it is a miracle I don’t have depression, just crippling anxiety being exploited (this is the closest word I can think of, except for exponentially increased and exploded) by the Coronavirus Craziness.  
> The bra and underwear thing. Wear what feels best to you! I know a lot of girls who mainly wear sports bras and boyshorts, but they don’t work for me and I felt Peter needed something a little more jarring. Also what is fanfiction except a way to express yourself?
> 
> I cried writing this, okay? So don’t hate me because I cried too.
> 
> I apologize for my aggressiveness about Deadpool. That happened at like 1 am to start building the emotional hype for this chapter. As I am just coming down with it, I am going to go cry myself to sleep. Or write another chapter. We shall see.


	4. Betty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Far From Home, with a few quick changes! MJ already knows, Betty finds out, Kate Bishop makes a cameo...

Bennet always hogged the television remote. It was incredibly annoying to grow up only watching  _ The Captain America Adventures _ and later,  _ Ironman: Stark Strong _ adventures, but she lived with it because at 6:30pm Miss Mary took the remote and changed it to  _ The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric _ and Betty was  _ enamored _ .

Midtown had the money for a huge film studio, and did a live broadcast every morning. Not many people were willing to get in front of a camera, but she knew she needed the experience. She looked good with Jason Ionello (and his hopeless attempts to sleep with her had him bending to her will), so he became her co-host. Betty was bound for journalism and she knew it. She was the front-page writer and head editor of the school’s (online) newspaper, she starred in the school-wide broadcast, she managed the school’s social media, and she had secured herself a spot speaking as a student representative. Betty was bound for big things, and they involved writing and investigating.

Betty had honed in her investigative skills, so she knows that something is up with Peter and Flash. By unanimous agreement of the AcaDec Team, it is deemed that it is unlikely for her to be involved in the problem itself (meaning the exclusion of Peter, Flash, MJ, and Ned), so she is slated as the investigator for this case.

* * *

They meet at the school, the parents milling around as they wait to see their students off for Europe (with the school as a science trip. Most of them have been to Europe several times before. In fact, only Peter probably hasn't.). Well, not all of their parents. Only a few parents show up, really, but most of the students are more comfortable with their nannies and butlers than their parents, so it seems fair. Ned, Sally, and Abes’s parents are there. MJ’s father kisses her head before speeding off, and Charles’s moms pinch at his cheeks before taking off with the promise of the Bermuda in their nearby future. Pepper Potts is there, which is especially nice for Peter, in Betty’s opinion. She sends a heavy-set man to fetch Peter’s things, making sure that Peter has everything. “You’ll be okay?”

“It’s going to be great, thank you, Pepper.”

“I know it is, Honey, and I’m so glad you are getting this opportunity, Europe has such different cultures… It’s beautiful and amazing, really. Well, I guess if you’re ready, Happy and I will be off. Remember to call and send us lots of pictures and let us know if you need anything. The pilots are very bored without having Tony around to make them fly them to Japan for sushi at two in the morning because he had a sudden craving.”

"I will, thank you, Pepper!"

"Have fun, Sweetheart!" And then Pepper Potts is gone before the media catches wind of her whereabouts.

* * *

If there's one thing Betty knows, it's forbidden romance. Jason Ionello is so far consumed by peer pressure that he solely wants to sleep with her; maybe, if he ditched his douchey bros and gave her a chance as a girlfriend, she'd say yes. In the meantime, Ned Leeds is way more interesting than Betty had known, but definitely as sweet and smart as would be expected of Peter Parker's best friend. Plus, getting close to Ned might put her in the know of what is going on with Flash and Peter…

He's asked her to be his girlfriend by the time their flight crosses the ocean, and she’s woman enough to admit that she accepts with her investigations being the smallest reasoning for agreeing.

Brad and MJ are sitting together, although Brad is at least a little bit annoyed by Peter being in the third seat. Brad’s distaste toward Peter is only rivalled by Flash’s cruelty toward Peter in the eyes of AcaDec. Technically five years ago, Brad had been the snot-nosed brat who ran around with the other middle schoolers being a menace. It felt like only weeks before because to the Blipped it had been that short of time. Now, he rocked up, wanting into MJ’s pants and hating on sweet, innocent Peter? Not going to fly with AcaDec, buddy.

* * *

Their first stop is Venice, which is as beautiful and romantic as Betty had ever imagined. Ned is spending most of his time being the most romantic boyfriend ever, which is amazing. The rest of his time is spent keeping Flash from catching up to Peter while Brad tries to corner MJ. MJ, who seems to have taken on the job of puppy-guarding Peter from Flash by being the best friend a girl could imagine. Betty takes note, and gets her first big clue shortly before disaster strikes on the second day in Venice - Flash is watching Peter in a way that would be creepy if Betty hadn’t seen Jason Ionello give her those looks when his buddies weren’t around. Peter is giggling as a flock of pigeons settle and coo around her, turning her head daintily and making her look like a picture perfect model. Jaws don’t drop like they do in cartoons, of course, but Flash’s mouth opens and his eyes go wide. So he has a crush of some sort. That was a well-known fact. He had a huge crush on Peter but was insanely jealous and ridiculously scared of her brilliance. The fact that she, unlike the other girls in their school, was a huge softy who wasn’t about to go around defending herself, made her prime target for picking. It didn’t help that she had a big case of anxiety and social anxiety, nor that her home life was far from anything like theirs.

* * *

It’s a little weird that Peter is the last to show up, when things go wild, and Betty marks it down as tell number two. She gets distracted from thinking about it further though, because their trip changes to going to Prague, instead. Just in time for the Festival of Lights.

* * *

“ _ Bonjour, ma jolie, _ ” Someone purrs behind them in perfect French. “ _ Est-ce que quelqu'un vous a dit que votre beauté surpasse toutes ces lumières? _ ”

“ _ Merci, Marcos, _ ” Peter says, laughing softly. “Why are you here?!”

“Europe is much easier to travel around than your United States,  _ ma jolie _ . So when we heard you were going to be here we decided we needed to see this festival as well!” The boy grins.

“Umm, who are you?” Brad asks the guy.

“Oh, I am sorry, I am Marcos. A friend of Peter’s.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I owe her a great debt in life.”

“What would that be?”

“I made my boyfriend at the time realize he was gay and dump me so he could ride off into the sunset with his gay and in love with him roommate.”

“I am the roommate,” Marcos admits.

How Peter ends up in these situations, Betty will never know. Last year (or six years ago?), Liz had invited Peter over to get ready for Homecoming with her so that Peter could wear one of Liz’s old dresses so that she wasn’t the odd man out with a cheap dress. Of course, Peter’s period had come on as such a horrible mess that Peter had had to leave early, and then Liz’s dad had been arrested the following night. The nastier kids poked fun at Peter for ditching Liz, who had been basically the Queen of the school, albeit a nice one, out of jealousy. Betty didn’t mind because Peter would never do a thing to hurt anyone, and it had hit her harder than anyone that Adrian Toomess was being sent to jail and Liz was moving to Oregon.

“ _ Ma chatte! _ ” a new French kid chirps, although his accent is far less French and far more American than Marcos’s. Betty freezes when she recognizes the famous face, but Peter ignores all this and throws her arms around Harry Osborn. Somehow, this convinces Brad that Peter is a prostitute. 

Luckily, Betty doesn’t have to dwell on that because there’s the boring opera, sneaking out, the Elemental attacking, and Spider-Monkey saving her and Ned happen that night. Peter shows up after, looking dazed and a bit worse for wear when Mr. Harrington seizes her into a hug. She waves off all of them and claims she got separated hanging out with Harry and Marcos. Betty doesn’t buy it.

* * *

Peter is going to stay with family in Berlin, as they all head off for London this time.

* * *

They’re going to die. Ned and MJ and Betty and Spider-Man’s Guy and Flash, they’re going to die a long and miserable death. Spider-Man comes through, though, saves the day. Flash is ditched with their classmates. Betty takes off after Ned and MJ, and discovers just what has been going on when Spider-Man stands feet away from London Bridge, a man laying at her feet and looking for all the world like an actor with a CGIed character. Spider-Man looks positively tiny in the hug with the man who had almost died with them. MJ and Ned race to them, and Spidey stumbles away to hug them, peeling off the mask as Ned enforces a bear hug. Betty would know that chocolate colored hair anywhere.

Peter’s face is black and blue. There are tears streaming down her face, blood running down her lips. “Um,” MJ says, noticing Betty first.

“It’s fine,” Peter says as the man tenses up for them. “Betty’s good.” She hadn’t even realized Peter knew she was there. How had she known?

“What happened to you?” Ned asks over all the madness of Betty finding out who Spider-Man is.

“I got hit by a train. They dumped me in jail somewhere Dutch. Beck tried to kill me but the sense and then he killed himself and -” Sobs wrack her body. At least, Betty thinks horribly, even this scale of events is out of Spider-Man’s typical. Out of what Peter Parker, who blushed when told ‘Good work,’ and cried over  _ Marley & Me _ everytime, dealt with daily when she pulled on spandex and saved New York City and sometimes the world.

“I - do you need a doctor?” Ned asks.

“Later,” Peter says, scrubbing her gloved palm over her face. “Fury can deal with Beck. Happy, can you get home okay?”

“Of course, you want to fly with me?”

“No. I - there’s too much evidence that could help someone else figure out my identity as it is. I’ll just change and rejoin my class, say I got injured with everything that was going down.”

“How - you were supposed to be with family in Berlin?” Betty reminds her.

“Harrington won’t care.” she shrugs. She presses on the spider emblem and the suit melts into a puddle of fabric that she steps out of, revealing black padding that gives her the adrogynous shape and probably some extra protection. Releasing bits of the padding she shoves them into a duffel bag that “Happy” offers her, leaving her in a black long sleeve, black leggings, and black socks. It’s easy for her to cover the outfit with a sweatshirt and cheap tennis shoes that “Happy” produces. He presses a kiss to her forehead, tells her to call if anything even seems off - if her food tastes a little too salty - and then ambles away just as four men in tac suits appear with a man in a swirl of his trench coat and an eyepatch.

“Good work, Parker.”

“Who are you?” Peter’s tone shocks Betty, almost as much as the dumb question. Although, everyone did believe he was dead...

“Excuse me?”

“Nick Fury is in space, right now. Making sure S.W.O.R.D. works out; Kate told me. So  _ who  _ are you?”

“I -” Peter’s phone buzzes. She checks it before she can get an answer out of him, and her lips purse.

“Leave me alone, Talos. I can’t with anymore fakes today. This week. This month. This year.”

“Parker!” Flash snaps, “What the  _ fuck  _ happened to you?!”

“I got caught up in the middle of the Elemental fight. There was a train wreck.”

“Are you - do you need a doctor?!” Mr. Harrington shrieks.

“I already got checked out, Mr. Harrington. Just some ugly bruising… Thank you, though.’

* * *

“Okay, so now that I know your big secret, I have to ask - what does it have to do with Flash?”

“Nothing,” Peter hums. Peter, it turns out, lives in a lot of places. Legally, Pepper Potts-Stark is her guardian, so her legal address is that of the Stark Cabin where the Baby Stark had been born and raised and Tony Stark had been actually buried (the public and government have been led to believe he was buried where he died as a memorial, at the Avengers Compound). On weekdays, though, she lived in an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen with her lawyers. It was closer to school, she explained. On weekends, she typically lived in the Upper West Side, in a rundown apartment with a terrifying Beast of a man named Wade, who treated Peter like she was made of glass and could microwave the heck out of a chimichanga. Betty had gone there once, with MJ, to check up on Peter. Mostly, though, she spent time with Peter in the lawyers’ apartment because it was clean and they were friendly. “Flash had a service project in Wade’s building, and I was staying with him while Pepper went to visit her parents. We had a fling and then he dumped me for his dumbass friends.”

That… That had not been what Betty was expecting. Her thoughts were interrupted by Peter’s phone ringing. “Hi? Yeah - Oh  _ fuck _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, life has been crazy! Probably one more chapter to go, and this one is way easier for me to write. I know this one sucks, but bear with me. We'll get to the good part!


End file.
